Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Before & After | A Beautiful Kitchen

Well, here she is in all her glory...and glorious she is, in my humble opinion.Take a look at what this kitchen looked like before. The before kitchen was actually very nice, it just needed a little updating.

This home is very old and is located in a very old, charming neighborhood in San Antonio, however the existing kitchen was part of an addition that was added sometime in the early 90s I believe. We wanted our updates to feel vintage and respect the integrity of the era of the home.We kept most of the layout the same but made it a little more functional for this large family. They have 5 teenage kiddos!!! One of the main requests was to increase the size of the island to make it more functional for not only the large family but also their kid's sports and church functions that they often host.You can see in this before image, below, that the cooktop and bar sink compromised most of the island, which made the usable counter space very limited.Well, not anymore! Take a look at the size of that island! That is one single slab of soapstone too!Another update, that you will notice, is the cabinets were taken all the way up to the ceiling. I do this on every project that I am able too. It draws your eyes up and takes advantage of the ceiling height with even the lowest of ceilings. It also maximizes storage by filling in the awkward furdown space that ultimately will need decorating, and dusting of said decor, if left open.The kitchen appears larger because it actually is. In the before image above and below you can see a wall (with windows) to the right. This was an awkward sun room type area that separated the old home from the new 90's addition. The windows looked into a bricked-in room, which was kind of strange. We opened that space up and made it part of the new kitchen with a beautiful cased opening into the old dining room, that they didn't have access to from this space before.In the image below, you can see where we took the little room out and made it part of the kitchen.Notice the pretty, new chandy in the dining room. I can't show you that space yet because it isn't complete :-)Isn't the soapstone yummy?!In this before image below, you can see the old sun room space to the left and the nook straight ahead.We removed much of the colonial detailing as it didn't really fit the style of the home anyway, and replaced it with cleaner lined millwork.We opened up the wall to the right as well, which made a bar area that is open to the family room, with a lighted bridge of cabinetry overhead. The removal of these walls was dramatic to the space and helped it not feel so compartmentalized. Now, when you are in the kitchen, you won't feel disconnected from whatever is going on in the family room.Here's the new Wolf range and vent.We used calcutta gold on the backsplash and installed a herringbone detail over the range.The pretty eating nook.If you haven't already noticed, take note of our hardware placement. We wanted the bin pulls to actually look like they were on bins, so we positioned the hardware on the top rail, just like a vintage bin would be.The client and I wanted the pantry to feel like a mini general store, complete with beadboard backing on the shelves. We hung a vintage inspired schoolhouse fixture in there to complete the aesthetic. I love this little space!It's all in the details...I don't think I could be more obsessed than I am with the fixture over the island by Visual Comfort!

And just to fill your design tummy a little more...

Here is a little sneak peek of the family room.

This is the before image below.

All that I can show you right now is the fireplace makeover because this space isn't complete yet either, but isn't this lovely?!

I completely redesigned the millwork and removed the colonial details and dated, shiny brass. We brought the calcutta gold marble to the surround, which establishes continuity with the kitchen, since these spaces now interact with one another.

This color palette makes me very, very happy!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this lovely remodel as much as I did working on it!

I would like to give a special thanks to the Peoples family. You are gracious, funny and kind. You were absolutely delightful to work with!!!

I am so inspired by your work, and absolutely love your blog! Some of the transformations are just unbelievable!! I couldn't help myself - I had to feature you today at http://www.cuphalffull-sf.blogspot.com/

Hi Maria, I live in SA and was so excited to find your blog. You are so talented and your work is truly inspiring. I imagine this home is in one of the historic, gorgeous areas of town..can't wait to see more!

Thank you Nancy Elizabeth! Unfortunately, on a contracted project, I am unable to share specific sources like paint colors. I'm sure you understand. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to leave a comment :-)

Starr, thank you! Everything in the kitchen is new, we took it down to the studs. I have built cabinets on top of existing cabinets before though, see here http://beckdesignblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/adding-little-character_09.html Thanks for reading :-)

Beautiful remake of the fireplace. We live in Pa and are designing our fireplace. Would love to know where you bought the mantel or if it was custom work. Any info would be appreciated. great job!sallyeschallier@gmail.com

I know you are under to contract to not disclose paint colors but I was wondering if the wall color is more a light beige, light greige, or just grey? Internet photos can sometimes read differently then their true color. Thanks so much for the beautiful post

What is the height of the box that your fireplace sits on? I built myself a fireplace almost 2 years ago. Believe it or not , but I had never built anything before. I have wanted to attach it to my living room wall every since I finished it, but I came upon a problem. I'm also adding a chair rail to all the wall's in my living room and on the fireplace wall I noticed that the wall switch plates will be in the path of the chair rail. That box or maybe it's called a raiser would solve my problem. Or maybe you could just tell me a good height for my raiser (box). This diy and decorating your house to be your home is all new to me, but I am having the time of my life. I do so enjoy it. Thank you for any guidance you can give me. Oh please let me know if I can tell where I got the tutorial from to build the fireplace. She's an awesome tutorial writer.

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M. E. Beck Design, Inc.

Maria E. Beck, RID, ASID | Principal Designer

Welcome to Live Beautifully. I'm a licensed interior designer and principal of M. E. Beck Design, Inc. Follow along as I post about my interior design business, current design projects, my family, my travels and things that inspire me. My hope is that you might be inspired as well. Thanks for visiting!